Verb List (1967–68) Richard Serra to roll to crease to fold to store to bend to shorten to twist to dapple to crumple to shave to tear to chip to split to cut to sever to drop to remove to simplify to disarrange to open to mix to splash to knot to spill to droop to curve to lift to inlay to impress

The verbs—many of which describe recognizable processes in Serra’s practice—are listed as infinitives: to roll, to crease, to fold, to split, to cut, to knot, to spill, to lift, to suspend, to heap, to gather, to scatter, to enclose, to join, and so on. (“To splash” appears on the list.)

Richard Serra: When I was working in the early 1960s, I wanted to reduce things to pure process and activity. So I wrote down a list of verbs: to lift, to curl, to roll, to bend, to tie, to curve, to inlay, to splash. There are probably over sixty or seventy of them. And I decided to work those verbs in relationship to material in place and time.

Serra comprised a verb list, consisting of 84 verbs such as, 'to roll', 'to remove' and 'to support.' As well as 24 other words such as ‘to carbonise’ and ‘to repair’. These together make up a list of: ‘Actions to relate to oneself, material, place or process.’